Yesterday I recorded James Carroll’s claim that Constantine introduced the notion of a “unified” church into Christianity, but if I had read the next sentence I would have found a topper. Carroll says that Paul composed a “hymn to diversity” in “Corinth in Greece,” citing 1 Corinthians 12 in an endnote.
Where to start? For starters, Paul’s wrote to Corinth not from Corinth. Plus the chapter hammers as much on unity as on diversity. “Same Spirit” and “same God” and “same Lord”; then “one Spirit” and “one body” and “baptized into one body” and “many members, one body.”
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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